>> Major funding for NJ Spotlight News is brought to you in part by NJM insurance group, serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

And by the PSEG foundation.

>> Tonight, a call for action off the heels of the D.C. shooting.

Congressman Josh Gottheimer urges his former gubernatorial candidates to support a bill banning anti-Semitism.

Travelers brace for Memorial day delays after flight capacity was reduced at Newark Airport.

>> Knowing the delays that have been happening, it was expected, so when you travel on a holiday, it is something to be expected, so you have to deal with it.

Briana: Also, under the dome, lawmakers debate how to update the electric grid as residents prepare for rising utility bills.

And an in-depth investigation found rampant neglect and abuse at group homes for individuals with disabilities in the state.

>> The more families we talked to, the more documents we read, we kept coming up with the same things happening, the same lapse of basic care.

Briana: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

♪ >> From NJPBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi.

Briana: Good evening and thanks for joining us.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

We begin with a few of today's top headlines.

First, the federal government's immigration fight with New Jersey is escalating.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against four New Jersey cities, alleging their immigration policies obstruct the government from enforcing federal immigration law by shielding "illegal aliens within the garden state," calling their so-called sanctuary city policies a frontal assault on the federal immigration laws and the federal authorities that administer them.

The suit names Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, and Patterson as well as the cities' four mayors and council presidents, alleging the cities have unconstitutional policies that bar local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration agents.

The Hoboken Mayor defended his city's policy today, saying we won't back down, while Newark Mayor Ras Baraka called the lawsuit absurd and denied the city's policies stay in the way of public safety.

It comes two weeks after a clash outside a recently opened ICE detention feel silly in Newark.

The embassy shooting that killed two Israeli emphases staffers has put renewed focus around anti-Semitism here in New Jersey.

Josh Gottheimer is calling on his fellow gubernatorial candidates to support a bill that would condone the definition advanced -- of anti-Semitism.

The bill has not made it for a full vote yet in the legislature.

Supporters say a clear definition of anti-Semitism would protect Jewish people by making hate speech easier to spot and eliminate, while opponents argue part of that definition is controversial because they feel it allows for certain criticisms of Israel, not juice, to be considered anti-Semitic.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department is investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism and a hate crime.

The accused gunman is facing several federal murder charges.

In our business report tonight, it is the unofficial start to the summer season, and one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.

AAA Northeast projects the bulk of New Jerseyans are expected to go by car, though some are braving the airports.

Just days after the FAA scaled back the number of flights that can come in and out of Newark airport, while the hub continues dealing with staffing shortages and communication outages.

Ted Goldberg caught up with travelers heading out of Newark's terminal B this morning, who were already applicants delays -- up against delays.

>> It is more cost-effective to fly out of here.

That is why we chose Newark.

Now we are paying for it.

Ted: Memorial day weekend is off to a bumpy start.

There was already a close runway and a shortage of air traffic controllers.

Robot into cloudy weather and you have a recipe for 100 delays Friday morning.

>> So far we have been told 30 minutes, but the plane has not yet taken off from Cincinnati, the plane that is supposed to take us back to Cincinnati.

>> Went to check in, they said it was going to be a little delayed, and we were told to sit down until they call our names to come check our bags.

So we have been here about an hour to check our bags so far.

>> Knowing the delays that have happened in Newark, it was expected, so when you travel on a holiday, it is something to be expected, so you just have to deal with that.

>> The flights are literally delayed.

I know they are delaying on baggage check too right now, because usually it is two hours before but it is only an hour before.

Ted: Air traffic controllers briefly lost contact with planes multiple times over the last few weeks.

I asked travelers if they had concerns about flying in or out of fear.

>> Absolutely.

Hopefully everything goes OK.

It is out of my hands now.

>> I was little concern, but allegiant has not had any delays.

>> Cap was the first concern, that planes fly off and the radars shut down and they cannot even get the plane to land because they do not know where the planes are.

>> I feel comfortable, because the airport is not that crazy, especially for a holiday weekend.

So far, everything is going great.

>> It is kind of scary, but we thought they've probably got it under control, and I think the FAA has come in to try to control more of the flights.

Ted: After an FAA order, Newark is reducing its flights by more than a quarter for the next three weeks.

Normally there are 77 combined up archers landings per hour.

Now it is 56.

Sarah McKeon is the head of the aviation department at the Port Authority of New Jersey, and she spoke at a meeting Thursday.

>> We should stop seeing the last minute cancellations due to staffing challenges, and that should allow people to best plan for what they need to do.

I would just note that in terms of flying in and out of Newark, the operation remains very safe.

Ted: Robert Sinclair Junior works for AAA Northeast and says the FAA reducing an airport's capacity does not happen every day.

>> AAA is one of the largest travel agencies in the country.

If this were common, we would have heard about it.

Ted: He had rainy weather has belly -- has led to delays around the country.

>> Many delays start in New York because of the hub and spoke system, the fact that we have five airports here.

If New York sneezes, the whole country catches a cold.

Ted: Some at Newark Airport have sworn off flying from the garden state.

Would you fly from LaGuardia next time?

>> Yeah, or JFK.

I don't like coming over to New Jersey.

>> New York airport, I've given the last three or four years, probably has to be the worst airport in the world.

I think the only one that comes close is LaGuardia.

Ted: While Sinclair says AAA still expect a record number of travelers for Memorial day weekend, the vast majority of them by car.

>> We have not seen a rash of cancellations as a result of these problems.

The flying public is not fleeing air travel as a result of this.

Ted: Newark will have more flights arriving and taking off as soon as June 15, when a runway is scheduled to reopen after a renovation.

The other issues affecting this airport will need more time to fix.

At Newark Airport, I'm Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

>> Support for the business report is brought to you by Riverview Jazz, presenting the 12th annual Jersey City Jzz Festival.

Event details, including performance schedules, are online at Jerseycityjazzfestival.com.

Briana: A week from now, you can expect to see higher costs on your electric bills.

That is when utility rates in New Jersey are set to increase 17% to 20%, depending on your provider.

Lawmakers met this week to take up bills they say are aimed at fixing the root problems of these rate hikes.

Joanna Gagis reports as part of our Under the Dome series exploring the state government and its impact on the people who live here.

Joanna: In a week, New Jersey residents will feel the pain of energy prices spiking as much as 20%.

Yesterday, lawmakers moved forward with bills addressing it.

>> One of the biggest issues on the table is the cost of energy.

Joanna: Some bills require the Board of Public utilities to create more energy business and energy stories on -- storage in the state, especially for solar, and make the approval process easier and cheaper.

>> While large-scale solar projects are important, they are often facing multiyear delays.

By establishing automatic solar permitting, this bill offers a practical, efficient, and proven approach to streamline a renewable energy deployment.

It would significantly lower the soft costs associated with going solar, making it more affordable for all New Jersey families regardless of income.

Joanna: When expert modeled what savings could have been in New Jersey if Moore had been online prior to the PJM auction.

PJM is the regional transit or operator for New Jersey.

>> What if we had a thousand megawatts?

The result of that analysis is a reduced cost to New Jersey customers to the tune of 200 million dollars in a single year.

Joanna: One sector is coming around to focus, and that is data centers.

State bills are looking at the energy as well as the men of water required to cool the systems run by AI.

That got pushed back industry leaders.

>> We cannot entice data centers to be located in New Jersey if we are going to put roadblocks in the way of making it more expensive to develop your in New Jersey.

We recognize data centers are a large energy user, but they are not the only large energy users.

>> I have not heard concern about all the other members who are going to feel the rate increases.

Have you actually asked your other members if they really want BIA to take this position when your members are going to feel the increase in rates?

>> We are very concerned about rate increases.

We are lacking capacity.

And we have put forth proposals where we could put in new natural gas electric generation in a fairly quick matter by using existing sites or former sites that have all the distribution or transmission systems in place, so we could get there fairly quick.

We support connecting more solar quickly and support legislation to do that.

The answer from our perspective is not to try to discourage large users of energy from locating in New Jersey.

Joanna: Others pointed out data centers have not been known to create many jobs, but a key to bringing costs down is modernizing the energy grid that moves energy from its source into homes and businesses.

The BPU has approved new rules that would help do that.

>> Modernization is mostly about cost and using technologies that help us to make better use of the grid so we don't have to build as many poles and wires.

Poles and wires are expensive.

But we have more and more technologies available to us that allow us to keep the grid reliable at lower cost.

For instance, if you install a battery at specific locations, you can install them to make sure that you don't have to build poles and wires to get electricity from A to B, and that is often the most cost-effective solution.

Joanna: By legislators debate how and where to locate new energy sources for New Jersey, some are asking the BPU to investigate PJM and how it runs its options that alternately impact market rates for electricity.

>> We are going to have great pain here because many in New Jersey did.

Some people are saying these weight -- these rate increases that may happen are all because of New Jersey's policy on clean energy.

That is a red herring in this discussion.

There is obviously plenty of electricity to be had if you are willing to pay 10 times what you paid the year before.

We look at that process is not -- as not being honest.

Joanna: The bill advanced out of committee on the long -- out of committee along party lines.

Many other bills moved unanimously.

>> Under the Dome is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Briana: Finally tonight, we are devoting this part of our broadcast to a new investigative project by reporters at Northjersey.com.

"Hit and at home" delves into the state's privately run group home system that provides care for some 8000 adults with intellectual and development of disabilities.

What they found was alarming.

A system largely left to police itself, where a lack of accountability can have devastating results for its residents.

Conditions Lexi Rubio -- like cerebral policy, down syndrome, and autism, who were left alone to die out avoidable ways.

People who were not being given food, water, and medical attention.

Abuse and medical errors that LED to disturbing injuries or death, along with group home staff that are overburdened and underpaid.

Tonight we will talk to the reporters who produced the series, but first you are is a look at some of the stories they uncovered.

A warning, you may find some of these images disturbing.

>> I could see the bruises on Adam's arms and his chest.

I was told by a manager that Adam took a staff's lunch and the staff got upset.

Because my son does not articulate his words, because that is part of his disability, how come he is wrong, and why wasn't the staff wrong?

>> The doctor came outside and said Shelby has been being abused.

She's like, yeah, these are marks.

I said somebody start to my sister, and this is what the doctors were saying.

The supervisor was acting real funny, saying she did not know what happened.

Cops could not do nothing because nobody said anything.

>> There was two police officers.

We are sorry for your loss.

Your son Billy died in his group home.

He said Billy was found on the floor of his closet come in the closet, face down on a blanket.

You don't get over it.

It is unfair that this happens.

It is not right.

>> We had many meetings with a whole group of people at the table and very nicely said this is what is wrong, this is what we need to fix, but it did not happen.

From the top down, everyone's got a very important job to do.

They have some buddies life in their hand.

Rachel was 34 -- somebody's life in their hand.

Rachel was 34 and should still be here.

>> In less than two days, we went from optimism, the start of something new, to a terrible ending.

I held her when she was born, and I buried her.

That is something I am going to live with for the rest of my life.

>> Who else is here?

>> How many other people are home?

There's one more?

>> OK. >> I'll show you.

Briana: To produce the series, reporters spent a year filing hundreds of public records requests, interviewing hundreds more family members, providers, group home staff, and residents with developmental disabilities.

Many of their efforts were blocked by the state Department of human services, which oversees the $1.5 billion system and many of the stories remain untold, either out of fear of retribution or because the group home residents are unable to speak for themselves.

Ashley and Jean joined me now.

Thank you for coming on the show to share this.

Jean, I know you sifted through thousands of documents, made a lot of requests for public information.

Can you walk us through some of the patterns that you uncovered in terms of what would be considered abuse and neglect?

Jean: It is interesting you used the word pattern, because that is what we started to find as we went along, and that was so striking about putting this story together.

The more families we talked to, the more documents we read, we kept coming up with the same things happening, the same lapses in basic care.

People not being cleaned.

People not getting proper medication.

People not having diapers changed and continents underpants changed.

Not getting the food they needed .

Getting too much of the wrong food.

Not being taken to doctors in a timely manner.

Not getting to dentists and fighting their teeth rotted.

All of these same kinds of complaints kept coming up over and over again.

Those are just the kinds of things you would think of as basic care.

We also found that families were keeping sort of a catalog of injuries that they found.

Any of them were sharing photos with us, some of them, which you can see appeared online.

Burns, bruises, stitches, all kinds of things that were happening to their loved ones, many of them unexplained.

And those that were investigated, many of them unsubstantiated.

Briana: Ashley, Jean says the families were keeping catalogs.

Were the group homes also keeping logs of these?

What really stuck out to you?

There was a man in particular you woke -- you wrote about, Achelam Bardi, who looked like -- Michael Lombardi, who looked like he had terrible injuries.

Were the group homes keeping track?

Ashley: Under the law, you need to report abuse or neglect.

With Michael Lombardi, that is an interesting case.

Some of the photos you see were at a previous group home, and then he moved to another company, and at couple months there, he died unexpectedly at the age of 39.

His mother called around to as many people as she could think of because she did not understand what had happened, and it took a full year for the state to open an investigation into his death.

That is despite them informing the state that his cell phone had showed he had tried to call 911 more than a dozen times.

It took a year.

Eventually the state wrote an investigation report.

It was unsubstantiated neglect.

The mother had a lot of questions about how you could do an investigation like this a year later when memories may have faded and so much had gone on.

Briana: Why is it that the state does not automatically investigate this, especially since about a quarter of these deaths are labeled as "other," whatever that means?

Ashley: That is a great question, and it is when we would love to ask the state as well.

They say they conduct a mortality review of everyone.

What we do know is about 170 people under group home care Daiichi or and 1 20 R unexpectedly, so that means they are not in hospice or palliative care, and only about 10% of deaths are investigated.

It comes up a lot with families were someone has died -- where someone has died very young unexpectedly or get put into hospice at a very young age.

That is something we really would like to understand.

Briana: Jean, are there punishments for these group homes when the cases of neglect, abuse, or the deaths are substantiated?

What repercussions are there?

Jean: The investigative reports are mostly not public.

Once Ashley and I were able to obtain, we had -- the ones Ashley and I were able to obtain , we had to get through families or other means.

There are corrective action plans required off of investigations that go into cases of abuse and neglect, but also those corrective action plans are not public.

So you often cannot see what happened.

If a staff has been disciplined, that is also not public.

If they land on what is known as the central registry, the names on that central registry are also not public.

As you can see here, there is a significant lack of transparency in the system, and that is only some of the things you can get your hands on.

Brenda: We -- Briana: We should also note these folks who work at these group homes, these are difficult jobs, drastically underpaid and often shortstaffed.

How does that leave folks who already, many of whom cannot advocate for themselves, even more vulnerable in what is a vulnerable system?

Jean: The staffing is huge for the system.

There are a lot of people.

Everybody is significantly underpaid.

Training is an issue.

Hands-on training is an issue for these staff members.

Many of them feel like they are thrown into the job, left alone, not given the support they need.

And there are a lot of good people there on the front lines trying to do good work.

At the same time, because the companies have trouble attracting good people, they have a tendency to take whatever's out there, and that is how you get bad actors that sneak into the system.

They don't really sneak in, they are just brought in, people who are not really equipped for the job.

We see how this lack of staffing, this lack of training, leaves residents vulnerable.

Residents do not get the support they need.

Some of them need one-on-one.

They need assistance.

They do not get it because there are not enough staff.

In one of our stories, we wrote about a woman who was left alone at four disabled residents when the house was caught on fire.

She had a struggle to rescue these women.

One of them she was unable to get out and had to wait for the firefighters to bring her out of the structure that was completely destroyed.

This is just some of the things we saw with staff.

Briana: And as you said, that is with the information you were able to get your hands on.

You can read Ashley and Jean's full series on Northyears he.com.

-- Northjersey.com.

This is really important reporting.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

>> Thank you so much for your time.

>> Support for the medical report is brought to you by Horizon Blue Cross for the shield of New Jersey.

-- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

Briana: You can download or podcast or watch us any time by subscribing to the NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel.

Plus, you can follow us on Instagram and bluesky to stay up-to-date on all the headlines.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

Thanks for being with us.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

We will see you back here on Monday.

>> New Jersey education Association, making public schools great for every child.

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Let's be healthy together.

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More information is online at NJrealtor.com.

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♪